Here we go again. ..... Z3 Number 4
This ones my new toy, and to be honest I think all the forthcoming tinkering will be more fun than I got from the fully loaded Z4M I had, 'cos all I could do was polish it and get flashed by other motorists and camera's.

This one's a 2.8, and still has enough poke to get me out of shape on occasion...

The 'M' number plates will go, to be replaced with pressed ones, but they are all I have for now...
So, there's no sport spec, red leather standard seats with no heating... no aircon, and gingercaters all around. But a good base to start with 86,000 on the clock.
A hardtop was included, but the brackets are the homemade version off eBay.
They still work, even though the heated rear window didn't, No cable connections on this version.

Some of you may have seen the first purchase already,
M seats in blue and black, a blue dash, extended leather door cards and extended leather console also in blue leather.

Last edited by gookah on Mon 04 Feb, 2013 12:05, edited 6 times in total.

The M52TU engine is great, and surprisingly economical!
Have you thought about the 330 inlet manifold conversion? It's quite easy DIY job and all you need is the manifold and adaptor bracket.. Bolt on job £150-200 for parts
But best to get it remapped to get best benefits from it if you do..

First hurdle to overcome was the recurring engine light and the erratic idle when cold.

and the cause:

the common split elbow. so for less than a tenner I bought part no 13541435627. Please note it is a superseded part and you do not need the extra hose clip or joint that they advise if yours already has the two adjacent hose clips as shown.
Codes showing were P0170 and P0173 fuel banks 1 and 2.
Until I got the new elbow I kept resetting these to turn of the light.
Since changing the elbow they have not returned and the idle is smooth again.

and the dust in that engine bay....

Last edited by gookah on Fri 28 Dec, 2012 01:19, edited 1 time in total.

So.... the dash was a tricky job to refit, as the 3 bolts under the windscreen (7mm socket size) screw into spring clips that slide about, and you cant move them with the dash in place if they are slightly out.
But other than that, just took a while to strip everything out.

What do you do with the original red console? The replacement one that I bought had the blue extended leather under the handbrake but was the pre-facelift....
Anyway, I got some blue carbon vinyl and wrapped my red console and swapped over the switch panels. I also wrapped the steering wheel trim.. but I'm not sure.
It may have to go black carbon.

The seats had different connections for the seatbelt pre-tensioners, so I had to solder the new connectors in place. Luckily I had the foresight to get both male and female halves from the breakers, All other connectors were identical, and I kept the airbag module.
All the other wiring was there for the heated seats and they plugged straight in. I had a couple of facelift heated seat switches given to me by my son G8JKA and the relay was already fitted.
Whilst the console was out I moved the roof switch wiring to the front as well..
Seats fitted, windows greased before fitting the new door cards, airbag light reset, (I had to move the car with the seats out..) and everything tested and working fine.
Lovely having heat on base and back again..... God those old seats were cold in a morning.

They need to have the scuffmaster treatment, but for now will suffice as the colour looks darker than Estoril, but thats is what the doorcards and console have written on them and I need to get the match correct.
Anyway here are a few pics of the new interior..

Mate extremely interested in your updated console. I also have a 2k z3 but a coupe, mine has the older style console in it with the larger push button switches. I recently bought a 2001 console (like your new one) but was wondering if the connectors at the back of the switches will be plug and play or will I have to get he soldering iron out?

Great read, this brings back fond memories of me doing something similar to the interior of my last car. It totally transforms the feel of the car

Santa was certainly good to you, be interested to hear some feedback on the springs you are going to fit. I see Eibach supply 2 different spring types, sport line and pro-kit. Not sure how much difference there is between the two types?

Mate extremely interested in your updated console. I also have a 2k z3 but a coupe, mine has the older style console in it with the larger push button switches. I recently bought a 2001 console (like your new one) but was wondering if the connectors at the back of the switches will be plug and play or will I have to get he soldering iron out?

By the way, nice bunch of mods mate

You will need the different switches also, as pre-facelift switches don't fit the facelift console (they are different widths,) but hopefully they are supplied in your new console, however the connectors are also different for the older/newer switches even though they do the same job, I believe your coupe may have the older style wiring loom and connections

Brian H wrote:Great read, this brings back fond memories of me doing something similar to the interior of my last car. It totally transforms the feel of the car

Santa was certainly good to you, be interested to hear some feedback on the springs you are going to fit. I see Eibach supply 2 different spring types, sport line and pro-kit. Not sure how much difference there is between the two types?

Look forward to the next update.

The Sport Line (red springs), IF you can get hold of them, are lower, (as in 45-50mm drop) and firmer and recommended for track cars, The Pro-Kit lower 30mm all round and are more suited for a daily road going car.
I had the Pro-Kit on both my Z4's as well and they improved the looks and handling.

The head unit and sub are now in, and working a treat, iPhone connected and wiring hidden, Bluetooth handsfree through the speakers with auto mute of the radio, even for directions in maps app.
Head unit controls the iPhone and charges it too.
You can even tailor the colour to the car, The display can be blue/white/green/red and every shade in between. I saw over 30 odd settings, and chose the orange closest to the standard.
Another feature is if the phone rings, the display colour is selectable and the default changes it to flashing blue..
It sounds great with the sub now..

a better pic of the interior, with the hardtop removed..:

and the stainless hoops installed,

These are the homemade hardtop brackets,

I got a facelift HRW switch, and plugged it in, but had to connect into the existing wiring behind the passenger seat. But that works now as well..

also put the seat tilt kit on the drivers (cheapo version)
That will do for today...

I also bought a leather repair kit, slid a 'repair patch' underneath the rip, applied the glue, then held it together for 2 mins and left it for an hour.
Cleaned the leather with the cleaner from the repair kit then applied the Scuffmaster by dabbing it on with a sponge.

This was the drivers side, and was after just one coat,

I will do another coat tomorrow, then onto the passenger side which is no where near as bad.

a view from afar:
Impressed is not an adequate enough word for how I feel....

Also had a small cigarette burn, and in the repair kit was some leather filler, so applied it and now I will touch up with a marker pen until I get some black Scuffmaster.

Last edited by gookah on Tue 04 Jun, 2013 16:30, edited 4 times in total.

Looking really good
My first standard red leather seats I used the German kit (can't quite remember the name ) and was impressed with that as well, but not cheap!
When I got the ///M seats I decided to get the drivers bolster done professionally which to be honest was the same cost as the German kit and looked even better, £60 I think!
It looks like you've got a great finish though for a first coat

Wow!!! The result on the seat is amazing!! Where did you get the scuff master and the repair kit???

There is a few places on the internet where we can found the scuff master but I'm not sure about the repair kit! Your seat looks very good so if I could do the same on my seat I would be more than pleased!!

Pierrick wrote:Wow!!! The result on the seat is amazing!! Where did you get the scuff master and the repair kit???

There is a few places on the internet where we can found the scuff master but I'm not sure about the repair kit! Your seat looks very good so if I could do the same on my seat I would be more than pleased!!

The head unit works equally well as a direct usb connection, or bluetooth streaming of the music.
On longer journeys I put the phone in the dock to also charge it, but on short ones I just use the streaming as it sees the phone when I start the car.

can you please stop doing these things to your car . just when i think i have my car the way i like it . you come along every time with stuff that looks great and suits the car well
now i want more bits i cant afford ..

And a remote roof close, which will work from in the house, or up to 100 metres away,

OK it doesn't latch the handles, but if it starts chucking it down, I can remotely shut the roof, while I get my coat.
I just have to get in and clamp up, but now there is no sitting in the rain going through the motions getting soaked..
.....
And I just wanted to see if it could be done.

Last edited by gookah on Sat 18 Feb, 2017 21:00, edited 2 times in total.